Hello yall,

Can anyone tell me how long it should take for an expert to examine medical records to determine the cause of a cp case? It's been over four months since I submitted my daughter's medical records to our attorney for expert evaluation. They currently have an OBGYN looking at them. And he or she is the only one who has seen them so far. I know every case is different, but four months seems like a very long time for only one expert evaluation which hasn't been completed yet. Can anyone give me their info on their experiences with medical record evaluation through their attorneys to determine a legal case?

Thanks,
Melissa

I never pursued any legal action--but I suspect there probably could be an error in judgement in my case--considering the physician came to my room and told me my son had a heart problem

i told him on the ultra sound my son had a perfect heart--he thought a moment went back and gave my son an injection (that changes the cirrculation i think).

As I told him, my son has a good heart, but he has cerebral palsy now, he also has a few other slight abnormalities--so it's hard to tell.

anyway--my major concern is--yes maybe I can sue and win and get money

but after the dust settles and I need to find him Drs. to treat him--I may find none--

because there may be no Drs. who want to risk me sueing them also.

Just some food for thought...

My family has never taken any legal action, and it's probably too late to do so now, but we're almost 100 % certain my CP could have been prevented with the proper prenatal care and delivery. Please keep us updated on your case, I am very interested to know how it turns out. Best of luck to you :)

JellyRJFan,
I haven't officially filed a lawsuit. I'm waiting for the examination results before I make any decisions. I had good prenatal care so I think my daughter's cp occurred during delivery since she was a huge baby (9 lb, 21 in). I'll keep you informed of anything I find out. Thanks for being supportive.

KTBug45,
Our future doctors will not know unless I choose to tell them. Like all doctors in all fields, they need to know only if you are currently involved in any legal case so they will know if their evaluations will be considered court evidence.


Thanks,
Melissa

melissa,
Our attorney has had our records just a few weeks, but I dont know how ling the review process takes. I have an appt with him at the end of the month, and will ask how long it usually takes.
Have you been pleased with him so far? if not maybe this is a sign that he may not be the best lawyer for you. Mine is in new orleans and specializes in cp and medical mal-practice cases. Good luck!

I don't know when my diagnosis was official but shallow hip sockets were discovered early on which can be a sign of CP. In every state there is an federally mandated advocacy agency specifically for the disabled & their families. You should also have a state governing board which deals w/ disability issues. Getting involved w/ these agencies in AZ. has been a godsend.

OrbOfConfusion,
since your baby was of normal birthweight, I would think you have a good chance for a malpractice suit. I was 2 months premature and 2 pounds 8 ounces at birth... 99% of all people with CP are premies, with low birth weight


JellyRJFan,
I haven't officially filed a lawsuit. I'm waiting for the examination results before I make any decisions. I had good prenatal care so I think my daughter's cp occurred during delivery since she was a huge baby (9 lb, 21 in). I'll keep you informed of anything I find out. Thanks for being supportive.

KTBug45,
Our future doctors will not know unless I choose to tell them. Like all doctors in all fields, they need to know only if you are currently involved in any legal case so they will know if their evaluations will be considered court evidence.


Thanks,
Melissa

Hi musicmaker,

We finally heard a response from the attorney and he said that the expert could not determine the cause of the brain injury. All records indicated that our OB/GYN performed the delivery adequately and under somewhat normal circumstances. And I agree with their findings since the injury site is within her brain.

So now I don't know how we will ever find out what happened to her. I kinda suspect this prescription antibiotic I took during my first trimester but really I will never know for sure. I can't think of any way of finding the cause. It really bothers me not knowing what happened to my child.

Take care,
Melissa

Melissa, Im sorry that you cant find out the cause of your daughters cp. I know you must be so frustrated. We met with our atty last week and were told it would be a long drawn out process. As you well know the hospital suddenly lost fetal monitor strips and were found weeks after all the other records were sent. we are fixing to go through the ob/gyn review.

I know the medical care industry is very well protected. Loosing important medical records is only one defense they use... Law suits for this kind of thing have been tried for over 50 years, most have been unsuccessful

So now I don't know how we will ever find out what happened to her. I kinda suspect this prescription antibiotic I took during my first trimester but really I will never know for sure. I can't think of any way of finding the cause. It really bothers me not knowing what happened to my child.

Take care,
Melissa

I think you should not ruminate on the cause of your dtr´s CP. Your daughter's situation and prognosis do not depend on knowing the cause. It's better to think about the future, not the past.

Hey Strawberry1,

You'd have to be a mother to understand these kind of things. All aspects of a child's life is of concern to his/her mother. Although, I agree that the future is the most important thing to concentrate on. Yet I still wonder.

Anyhow, we took her to a new dr two days ago and he suspects she had a stoke in utero. He has ordered her to have an ECG done to search for any heart problems. He also did various blood tests to search for some things like clotting factor defects. Actually, this ped neuro wants to know the cause so he might know what to expect in the future in the case of strokes or clotting problems.

Although these possible causes make me worry more, I would rather know than not. I pray my daughter doesn't have any heart problems.

Take care,
Melissa

Hey Strawberry1,

You'd have to be a mother to understand these kind of things. All aspects of a child's life is of concern to his/her mother. Although, I agree that the future is the most important thing to concentrate on. Yet I still wonder.



I know I'm not the person you are replying to, and although I do think you have a point, I agree with strawberry. No lawsuit, or wondering 'what ifs", or "what did I do wrong" will undo your daughter's brain injury. I'd think that it might make your daughter feel worse about her CP, if she thinks that you are so focused the cause on her CP. It might make the emphasis on her CP being a bad thing much stronger than it should be. Now, I'm not saying that you do feel this way, its just the impression I get.

I think CP is a bad thing in the way that I'm not sure if many of us would pick it if we were able to choose it for ourselves, but since there is not much you can do about it you might as well try to "make lemonade out of lemons."

I'm 29 and have spastic diplegia. There are some days when I get so angry that I have CP, (I guess I'm not at a point where it is completely okay with me. Maybe it will be after I get a real job and maybe get married.) I have wondered a time or two during all these years, "Did my mom do something wrong?", BUT I have to say that I have never once heard my parents lament about me having CP, or wonder what they could have done different. I'm sure they wondered about it after all that is human nature, but I know for me if I knew this was a problem for them, it would have made me feel worse about my situation.

This isn't the same thing, but this is one example that comes to mind. I've never done many of the "girly" things one does as they grow up. As a teenager I never went to the prom, as an adult, I've never been on a date much less married. I've always wondered how this makes my mom feel not to experience all of these traditional rites of passage along with me. It seems it would have to make her feel sad that all of her friends with daughters her age and younger have gotten to plan weddings, etc while she sits off on the sidelines. This aspect of my life may very well hurt my mom, but thankfully she has never said anything about it to me. If she did I know I'd feel that I frustrated that I wasn't "normal" like "everyone else."

Sorry for Rambling :)

Hey there Christine,

Thanks for your input. I understand what you are saying but I guess you would have to know me in real life to understand how my family and I treat the cp issue at home. We don't make it an issue. Her cp has not been traumatic for us. To me, she is normal with a weak side. We let her have a life and enjoy that life. I'll admit at first the diagnosis bothered me, but it quickly became accepted in our home. I don't mope around being upset about her cp. I focus on positive things in our life. We have a very stable and strong family atmosphere.

And the whole prom, date, marriage thing will not be an issue with me in the future. Those kind of things are up to my daughter because that's her life when she gets older. Yes, I'll be there to support her in anything she does. Whether or not she gets married, I will love her the same and never feel disappointment toward her. And further more, I place more emphasis on self-esteem, learning, and importance of others than I do in "girly" things. For example, many of my in-laws want me to enter my daughter in beauty pagents, but I refuse because it focuses on superficial aspects. My daughter is better than that.

My daughter is beautiful, sweet, smart, and socialable. Just because she has cp doesn't make her less than anyone that's able-bodied. And our family and extended family do not treat her like she is any less... they treat her the way a loving family is supposed to. We encourage her to reach her desired goals. She can do anything she puts her mind to and she knows it.

The main lesson I try to teach both my children is to love and respect themselves... self-acceptance is the foundation to a good and healthy life.

Take care,
Melissa

I think CP is a bad thing in the way that I'm not sure if many of us would pick it if we were able to choose it for ourselves, but since there is not much you can do about it you might as well try to "make lemonade out of lemons."

That's a very interesting point. I often think that I wouldn't have picked CP for myself... but, now, if I had 3 wishes one of them would not be for me to not have CP. It's become a part of me and I don't think I would be able to imagine my life any differently.

"My daughter is beautiful, sweet, smart, and socialable. Just because she has cp doesn't make her less than anyone that's able-bodied. And our family and extended family do not treat her like she is any less... they treat her the way a loving family is supposed to. We encourage her to reach her desired goals. She can do anything she puts her mind to and she knows it."

Melissa,
these are the important things concerning your daughter. Helping her build strong self-esteem and strong self-worth is also important. Teach her to help and care for others with disabilities or not. This will keep her from concentrating on the negative aspects of her CP. When it comes time for her to date and go to her prom, she will be ready. Christine23 may have had trouble with dating and other social skills, but I know it wasn't her fault. She probably had no role models with disabilities in her life...

When I was 14, I was asked to help a boy in school with more severe CP than I had. I had to help him eat and take him to the bathroom. We helped a lot of our classmates with things like this. I never had time to really worry about how CP affected me. I had found out about, and how to deal with my CP pretty much, by the time I was 8 years old!